good friday morning. coming up on "early today," evacuations ordered, massive rains and strong winds hit california today prompting fears of flooding, landslides and other damage to the drought ridden state. tensions rising. reports of russian military aircraft flying over ukraine, while ousted president yanukovych services in russia ahead of a press conference. oscar fever. the academy awards will dominate this weekend's entertainment buzz. plus, a masked lebron james returns to the hard court. nascar's jeff gordon's latest prank may be his best yet. and the statue commemorating a tech icon has many people scratching their heads. it is friday, february 28th. "early today" starts right now.

good morning. i'm page pahopkins. drought stricken california is getting hit with a one-two punch. two storms in two days. that's too much rain in too little time. and now there are fears of possible landslides, which prompted officials to close a ten-mile stretch of the pacific coast highway and evacuate some 1,000 homes near l.a. here is nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: on ridge view drive, the order to evacuate just before the next big storm rolls in. 65-year-old ed highline, a retiree, had has been working around the clock. but now he's out of time. >> the water will come over first and it rains. this whole thing will be full of mud. >> reporter: he knows it won't take mountain to slide into his backyard. >> we need the rain.

we don't want the mess. you can't have both. so we'll take the rain, we'll clean up the mess. >> reporter: only four years ago a winter storm buried a nearby neighborhood in mud after a wildfire torched the foothills. all of los angeles is on high alert. >> we have storm watch live team coverage. it took only an inch to make freeways a mess. in southern california, nearly 200 accidents. hazmat teams shut down this highway for a fuel spill. on social media, tweets like this, nobody owns an umbrella and nobody knows how to drive in rain. from police, buckle, put down your cell phone and drive safe. the silver lining, california desperately needs water. they measured the snow pack, 75% below normal. ed highline knows more rain, the main event is coming friday into saturday. his family has packed up and moved to safer ground.

>> and nbc's bill karins will have more on what to expect from that storm in just a few moments. ukraine's ousted president will go public today for the first time since fleeing kiev. viktor yanukovych is expected to hold a news conference in neighboring russia and just this past hour prosecutors in ukraine said they will seek his extradition to face charges of mass murder in connection with last week's violent clashes that left more than 80 people dead. overnight, dozens of armed men were seen entering the airport. the russian military is blocking another airport near the russian naval base, that's according to ukraine's new interior minister, who described it on facebook as a military invasion and occupation. russia says its military exercises on the ukrainian border are not a prelude to intervention. secretary of state john kerry says russia told the u.s. it will respect ukraine's

sovereignty but tensions are heightened. the white house says vice president joe biden called ukraine's new prime minister pledging u.s. support after a new government was formed yesterday. new help for u.s. military veterans is on hold today after it was blocked by republicans in the senate. the $21 billion bill failed to reach the 60 votes needed to advance. 41 republicans voted against it saying it was too expensive. the bill would have expanded medical, education and job training benefits for veterans and families. it would have created 27 new medical facilities for iraq war vets. the legislation had the backing of most veterans organizations. president obama opening up like never before at a candid and emotional kickoff event at the white house. he launched a program aim at giving young men of color a greater shot at success. it is called my brother's keeper. the president says he could have

been a negative statistic. >> i didn't have a dad in the house. and i was angry about it even though i didn't necessarily realize it at the time. i made bad choices. i got high without always thinking about the harm it could do. >> the program brings together businesses, foundations and community groups. the goal is to support programs that keep young men out of the criminal justice system and to improve their access to higher education. mr. obama says the focus is progress, even if we don't all agree on something. >> if i can persuade, you know, sharpton and o'reilly to be in the same meet iing, then it mea that -- then it means there are people of good faith who want to get some stuff done. >> he's right about that. well, the northern lights have been putting on quite a show over parts of the united

kingdom. also known as the aurora borealis, the lights are commonly seen at the north and south poles. they're caused by atoms colliding with particle from the sun. the beautiful pinks and greens have been visible in areas outside of london. seeing the northern lights is on my bucket list of things to do. >> you have to go to the north, scandinavia, they have great locations. closer to alaska and see it too. on the west, we showed you the beginning of the show the preparation and now the storm arrived. . the heavy rain is there. from l.a.x. to san francisco, everything is just wet. and we got about half an inch of rain already at the l.a.x. airport. that's good. you can see from the bay bridge there, we are going to be watching -- doesn't look too windy at least. there will be strong gusts out there throughout the day. look at the storm. very impressive storm. center of the storm, see the spin on it. let me give you a different view. water vapor, the x-ray, the atmosphere. look at the swirl directly under

the weather channel logo. this storm is very mature, wrapped itself up like a doughnut. we are going to watch it as it goes throughout the day, moving into california. already half an inch in l.a. san diego not quite as much. third of an inch in san francisco. sacramento starting to add up the rain too. as far as the rainfall totals go, the mountains still have a chance to get 2 or 3 inches. probably seeing 1 to 2 inches in a lot of the cities. that's a good dent out of the drought. snow levels are high. pretty warm weather system we have been dealing with. not getting as much snow as we like to build up the snow pack. we're going to get some there, the central sierra and a lot of it through the mountains of the northern rockies and the days ahead. the forecast for today, again, the airports will have some delays, even a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon with san francisco to l.a. th

>> doesn't look like any big huge storms behind this one. we need to get all the rain we can out of this one. >> yeah. and then get going into spring. >> hopefully, yeah. >> we're already. thank you, bill. >> 50% of lawmakers come through on a big promise. new car buyers beware. plus, out of 10,000 proposals, this was the winning bid. >> who is the judge? >> i do not know. i would like to meet that judge. we'll have the details next. [ woman ] gorgeous grains at your service. eat right. not less. [ woman ] hi, this looks interesting! what's going on here? would you like to try some hot cereal? [ female announcer ] special k nourish hot cereal. special k? wow! wow! [ female announcer ] made with superfoods... superfoods sound good to me. there's quinoa, barley. i can definitely taste the quinoa. good! i can't believe that's less than 200 calories. [ female announcer ] ...to help you truly shine.

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was quick and easy? makeup. nails. now advanced teeth whitening is simple with the new colgate® optic white™ toothbrush plus whitening pen. just brush. use the built in whitening pen, then go. no waiting, no rinsing. its stay on formula penetrates to deeply whiten for whiter teeth in two days. looking great with a dazzling, white smile is now quick and easy every day with the new colgate® optic white™ toothbrush plus whitening pen. brush. whiten. go.™ welcome back. a big win for gay marriage proponents thursday. a federal judge ordered kentucky officials to legally recognize marriages of same sex couples performed out of state. the judge said any laws that argue otherwise would violate the 14th amendment. new jersey governor chris christie just about had it with

questions related to the lane closures on the george washington bridge. when asked recently about the activities of his staff, christie responded, quote, what do you to? grab them by the ankles and shake them upside down until e-mails fall out of their pockets? on a related note, the audio of the 911 kales frcalls from the is set to be released this morning. how many politicians that opted to donate their salary during the shutdown actually kept their word? they have donated almost $500,000 to charity and government accounts. i guess 47% isn't too bad for a bunch of politicians. out of 10,000 submissions to apple for a statue honoring steve jobs, this is what apple has deemed the winner. created by a famed serbian sculptor, the statue features his head atop what the creator call a magnet pulling in different items.

a 16 foot tall version will brace apple's headquarters. president obama invites president biden to part in the first lady's let's move campaign by taking a lap around the white house. >> mr. president, ready to move? >> absolutely. let's do this thing. let's move. >> you're hard to keep up with. >> after a good workout -, got drink up. same time next week. time to get down to

business. car max is planning to hire. the company has 125 dealerships with 18,000 employees. and speaking of cars, buyer beware, a third of all new cars for sale today do not come with a spare tire. some manufacturers have eliminated the spare to make more room, reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency. nasa and japan aerospace launched a weather satellite. it will orbit the planet 16 times perdelivering real time data on extreme weather events. get me out of here. that may be the most popular phrase heard by travel agents these days. jet setter.com says hotel bookings in warm weather climates are up 7% in january from people traveling from illinois, new york, massachusetts, and washington, d.c. no surprise there. just ahead, ji-sason kleinc

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you're raising two teenage girls in the spotlight. i speak from experience, not always -- how do you talk to them about eating healthy, but also give them the confidence to have a good, you know,

self-confidence about their bodies and body image? >> yeah, i mean, we don't talk about weight. we don't talk about physical appearance. we talk about health. we talk about what's on the inside. we spend so much more time talking to our girls about being kind and treating others well and being compassionate and respectful. >> great advice. be sure to check out the rest of jenna bush hager's exclusive interview with first lady michelle obama this morning on "today." in sports, let's start with upsets. in college hoops, first up, number 17 kentucky against unranked arkansas, tied 60-60 with seconds left. alondis harris goes for the three at the buzzer but no good. arkansas wins 71-67. number 22 ohio state and unranked penn state, four minutes left, d.j. male up three to keep the nittany lions on top. 68-53. in women's basketball, notre

dame played lights out number 14 north carolina after winning 100-75, winning their 28th straight game. there was a power outage at the pavilion. throughout the campus, power was restored over an hour later. the brooklyn nets pummeled the nuggets. collins, first openly gay athlete in the nba, was set to meet after the game with the parents of matthew shepherd who was murdered in 1998 for being gay. collins wears number 98 to honor shepherd. lebron james debuted this intimidating face mask against struggling knicks. . the mask didn't distract from his game. he recorded 31 points and routed the mix 180-82. in texas, a $60 million high school stadium, yes, high school stadium will be shut down after

being opened for only 18 months. it will be closed until at least june for an examination of concrete that varies from a quarter of an inch to three quarters of an inch wide. american soccer star lemieux tried the happy gilmore swing and better leaver to abbie. the pepsi max ad starring jeff gordon. gordon was an ex-convict cab driver who starts fleeing from the police. the passenger's response, priceless. >> i can't go back, man. >> stop, stop. >> i can't. >> stop. >> please. >> no. >> stop. >> come on out, buddy. i'm jeff gordon. >> just ahead, the jury gets kerry kennedy's drug driving

case. and oscars take center stage this weekend. ney from his bank of america savings account to his merrill edge retirement account. before he opened his first hot chocolate stand calling winter an "underserved season". and before he quit his friend's leaf-raking business for "not offering a 401k." larry knew the importance of preparing for retirement. that's why when the time came he counted on merrill edge to streamline his investing and help him plan for the road ahead. that's the power of streamlined connections. that's merrill edge and bank of america. i cthis year aloneore places offi hit new york...ist. and texas! see, hotwire checks the competition's rates every day... so they can guarantee their low hotel prices.

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zzzquil. the non-habit forming sleep aid from the makers of nyquil®. well, we needed the rain. didn't need it this fast and this quickly. this is from the san jose fire department. they did rescue this person successfully, but just too much rain, too quickly in the santa clara area where the image was taken. that was with the batch of heavy rain that just went through here, watching all the yellows and oranges here, those are intense radar echoes being

reported by the radar. as we go throughout the day, we'll see bouts of this. not going to be consistently this heavy all day. it will be with us. as we go throughout the afternoon hours, we may get some thunderstorms. it is not out of the question. we could see a weak tornado or two. the strength of this storm and the instability we have in the atmosphere. even this saturday, showers. but the bulk of the storm will be pushing out. today, right now, the worst of it. >> yikes, tornado. >> possibly. not a horrible threat, but a couple are possible. >> a big one, thanks, bill. the 86th academy awards are on sunday. get your ballots ready for those oscar parties. while betting on the academy awards is illegal, in vegas, one oddsmaker decided to put his expertise to good use. cate blanchett is the clear front-runner for best actress with an 85% chance of winning. yeah. ahead of amy adams and sandra bullock with 74% chance. matthew mcconaughey for best actor thanks to his role in "dallas buyers club". and best picture has a 71%

chance of going to "12 years a slave slave." the red carpet will have beautiful gowns and jewels. jennifer lawrence borrowed over $2 million worth of jewels for the 2014 golden globes. can't wait to see what she's going to wear. if the oscars aren't your thing, two major releases this weekend. nonstop goes up against son of god. and ashton coupe ekutcher and m kunis are set to tie the knot. we wish those kids best of luck. i'm page hopkins. this is "early today." we hope it is just your first stop of the day today on nbc. ♪ ♪ [ girl ] roses are red. violets are blue. splenda® is sweet. and so are you.

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leading the news in the new york times, british spy said to intercept yahoo! web cam images. according to documents leaked by edward snowden, a british intelligence agency collected video web cam images, many of them sexually explicit from millions of yahoo! users regardless of whether they were suspected of illegal activity. and in the chicago tribune, tee spite winter chills, world still warming. the midwest and east coast were being walloped by snow, most of the world experienced warmer than average monthly temperatures. stories you may have missed. the world bank is postponing a $90 million loan to uganda's health system because of the country's new and harsh anti-gay laws. it imposes a life sentence for certain violations and makes it a crime to not report anyone who

breaks the law. whee withholding the loan is considered an unusual move because they usually don't weigh in on politics. and the kerry kennedy drug driving case resumes today. both sides agree she didn't mean to take a sleeping pill before she set out for the gym and veered into a truck. but now jurors must decide if she realized she was impaired. this next video serves as a warning to those selfie obsessed. >> i am. >> i know you are. tourist s in indonesia balances the camera on the edge to record himself feeding some monkeys. but one of the monkeys grabbed the camera and ran off. he took some selfies himself. >> time to come clean. do you do selfies? >> i don't do them good.

i don't have the right lighting. >> i do left-handed. >> what is the secret? >> the secret is a nice length background, so it focuses on you. just you. don't want anyone else distracting from it. >> and your expression? >> a little comical. not too serious. time for a look ahead and a look ahead. looking ahead to a high profile trial in south africa on monday, olympic blade runner oscar pistorius faces a murder charge in the valentine's day death of his girlfriend in 2013. on february 28th, 1983, the most watched tv show of all time. the conclusion of "mash". gilbert god freed is 59, bernadette peters is 66, gavin mccloud is 83. keep it here for more news, win and sports.

i'm page hopkins. thanks for watching "early today." have a great

right now the second of two strong storms slamming the entire bay area, taking a live look outside. san francisco, san mateo bridge, and palo alto this morning. we are across the entire bay area. it is very windy in some places especially on the bridge, the roadways are slick, there is lots of ponding and rain just coming down out there this morning. it's a rough one. live outside this morning across the bay area. i want to check in with meteorologist christina loren. she's got that microclimate forecast for us. >> yeah, good morning to you, laura, scott, everybody at home. we have really heavy rainfall and it is just started. give yourself plent